Ecclesiastes 3:18

New King James Version

I said in my heart, "Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals."

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.

Geneva Bible (1587)
I considered in mine heart the state of the children of men that God had purged them: yet to see to, they are in themselues as beastes.

Christian Standard Bible®
I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

Hebrew Names Version
I said in my heart, "As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals.

Easy-to-Read Version
I thought about what people do to each other. And I said to myself, "God wants people to see that they are like animals.

Amplified Bible
I said to myself regarding the sons of men, "God is surely testing them in order for them to see that [by themselves, without God] they are [only] animals."

American Standard Version
I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.

Contemporary English Version
I know that God is testing us to show us that we are merely animals.

Complete Jewish Bible
Concerning people, I said to myself, "God is testing them, so that they will see that by themselves they are just animals.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
I said in my heart: 'It is because of the sons of men, that God may sift them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.'

King James Version (1611)
I said in my heart concerning the estate of the sonnes of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselues are beasts.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
I said in my heart, concerning the speech of the sons of man, God will judge them, and that to shew that they are breasts.

English Revised Version
I said in mine heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.

Berean Standard Bible
I said to myself, "As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts."

Lexham English Bible
I said to myself concerning humans, "God sifts them in order to show them that they are like beasts."

Literal Translation
I said in my heart concerning the issue of the sons of men, that God may test them and see that they by themselves are beasts.

New Century Version
I decided that God leaves it the way it is to test people and to show them they are just like animals.

New English Translation
I also thought to myself, "It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

New Living Translation
I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals.

New Life Bible
I said to myself about the sons of men, "God is testing them to show them that they are like animals."

New Revised Standard
I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Said, I, in my heart, as concerning the sons of men, That God was minded to prove them, - and that they might see, that they were beasts, of themselves.

Douay-Rheims Bible
I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, that God would prove them, and shew them to be like beasts.

George Lamsa Translation
I meditated in my heart concerning the estate of the sons of men whom God had created, and saw that they are like beasts.

Good News Translation
I decided that God is testing us, to show us that we are no better than animals.

New American Standard Bible
I said to myself regarding the sons of mankind, "God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as animals, they to themselves."

King James Version
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I communed with myne owne heart also concernyng the children of men, howe God hath chosen them, and yet letteth them appeare as though they were beastes.

Darby Translation
I said in my heart, It is thus with the children of men, that God may prove them, and that they should see that they themselves are but beasts.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
I seide in myn herte of the sones of men, that God schulde preue hem, and schewe that thei ben lijk vnresonable beestis.

Young's Literal Translation
I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves [are] beasts.

World English Bible
I said in my heart, "As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals.

Revised Standard Version
I said in my heart with regard to the sons of men that God is testing them to show them that they are but beasts.

Update Bible Version
I said in my heart, [It is] because of the sons of man, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are [but as] beasts.

Webster's Bible Translation
I said in my heart concerning the state of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Bible in Basic English
I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I comoned wt myne owne herte also cocernynge the childre of men: how God hath chosen them, and yet letteth the apeare, as though they were beastes:

New American Standard Bible (1995)
I said to myself concerning the sons of men, "God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts."

Legacy Standard Bible
I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, "God is testing them in order for them to see that they are but beasts."

Contextual Overview

¹⁶ Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there. ¹⁷ I said in my heart, "God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work." ¹⁸ I said in my heart, "Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals." ¹⁹ For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰ All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ²¹ Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? [fn] ²² So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

concerning: Genesis 3:17-19, Job 14:1-4, Job 15:16, Psalms 49:14, Psalms 49:19, Psalms 49:20, Psalms 73:18, Psalms 73:19, Psalms 90:5-12, Hebrews 9:27, 1 Peter 1:24

that God: etc. or, that they might clear God, and see, etc. Job 40:8, Psalms 51:4, Romans 3:4, Romans 9:23

and that: Psalms 73:22, 2 Peter 2:12

Reciprocal: Job 11:12 - For vain Job 18:3 - Wherefore Psalms 49:12 - beasts Ecclesiastes 2:1 - said

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.

Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

Joshua 23:13
know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

Job 1:21
And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."

Job 5:5
Because the hungry eat up his harvest,Taking it even from the thorns, [fn] And a snare snatches their substance. [fn]

Job 31:40
Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.

Psalms 90:3
You turn man to destruction, And say, "Return, O children of men."

Psalms 104:2
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

Proverbs 22:5
Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them.

Proverbs 24:31
And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men,.... He thought of the condition of the children of men, their sinful and polluted state; he weighed and considered in his mind their actions, conversation, and course of life; and was concerned how it would go with them at the day of judgment on account of the same. Some render it, "I said in mine heart after the speech of the children of men" r; speaking in their language, and representing the atheist and the epicure, as some think the wise man does in the following verses; though he rather speaks his own real sentiments concerning men, as they are in their present state, and as they will appear in the day of judgment;

that God might manifest them; or "separate them" s; as the chaff from the wheat, and as goats from the sheep; as will be done at the day of judgment, Matthew 3:10; or "that they might clear God" t; as they will, when he shall judge and condemn them;

and that they might see that they themselves are beasts; as they are through the fall, and the corruption of nature, being born like the wild ass's colt, stupid, senseless, and without understanding of spiritual things; nay, more brutish than the beasts themselves, than the horse and the mule that have no understanding, Psalms 32:9; "mulo inscitior", as is Plautus's u phrase; see Psalms 49:12 Isaiah 1:3; this is now made manifest to the people of God by the word and Spirit; is seen, known, and acknowledged by them,

Psalms 73:21; and the wicked themselves will see, know, and own what beasts they are and have been, at the day of judgment; how they have lived and died like beasts; how like brute beasts they have corrupted themselves in things they knew naturally; and that as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, spoke evil of things they understood not, and perished in their own corruption, Judges 1:10 2 Peter 2:12; and that they have been beasts to themselves, as Jarchi renders and interprets it; made beasts of themselves by their brutish gratifications; have been cruel to themselves, ruining and destroying their own souls; or among themselves, and to one another, "homo lupus homini"; hence wicked men are compared to lions, foxes, evening wolves, vipers, and the like. So Mr. Broughton renders it, "how they are beasts, they to themselves."

r על דברת בני האדם "super verbum filiorum Adam", Montanus; "verbis hominum", Arabic and Syriac versions. s לברם οτι διακρινει αυτους "ut discernat illos", Cocceius; "quia delegit eos", some in Vatablus; so Aben Ezra and Ben Melech. t "Ut ipsi expurgent Deum", Anglic. in Reinbeck; some in Rambachius render it thus, "ut seligant ipsi (homines) Deum"; so Varenius. u Cisteilaria, Act. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecclesiastes 3:16-17. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecclesiastes 3:18-19, which reduces to its original form all that was made of the dust of the ground Ecclesiastes 3:20. And though the destinies of man and beast are different, yet in our present lack of knowledge as to God’s future dealing with our spirits Ecclesiastes 3:21, man finds his portion (see the Ecclesiastes 2:10 note) in such labor and such joy as God assigns to him in his lifetime Ecclesiastes 3:22.

Ecclesiastes 3:16

I saw ... - Rather, I have seen (as in Ecclesiastes 3:10) under the sun the place etc. The place of judgment means the seat of the authorized judge. Compare “the place of the holy” Ecclesiastes 8:10.

Ecclesiastes 3:17

A time there - i. e., a time with God.

Ecclesiastes 3:18

literally, I said in my heart with regard to the sons of men, it is that God may prove them and show them that they are beasts, they themselves. “Showing” is the reading of the Septuagint and Syriac: the present Hebrew text reads “seeing.” The meaning is that the long delay of God’s judgment Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 is calculated to show people that the brevity of their life renders them incapable of following out and understanding His distributive justice.

Ecclesiastes 3:19

That which befalleth the sons of men - literally, the event (happenstance) of the sons of men, i. e., what comes upon them from outside, by virtue of the ordinance of God. See the Ecclesiastes 2:14 note. Death in particular Ecclesiastes 3:2, Ecclesiastes 3:11 is a part of the “work that God doeth.”

Ecclesiastes 3:21

The King James Version of this verse is the only rendering which the Hebrew text, as now pointed, allows. It is in accordance with the best Jewish and many modern interpreters. A slightly different pointing would be requisite to authorize the translation, “Who knows the spirit of the sons of man whether it goes above, and, the spirit of the beast whether it goes down below?” etc., which, though it seems neither necessary nor suitable, is sanctioned by the Septuagint and other versions and by some modern interpreters.

Who knoweth - This expression (used also in Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 6:12) does not necessarily imply complete and absolute ignorance. In Psalms 90:11, it is applied to what is partially understood: compare similar forms of expression in Proverbs 31:10; Psalms 94:16; Isaiah 53:1. Moreover, it is evident from marginal references that Solomon did not doubt the future existence and destination of the soul. This verse can only be construed as a confession of much ignorance on the subject.

Ecclesiastes 3:22

What shall be after him - i. e., What shall become of the results of his work after he is dead. Compare Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 6:12.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. That they might see that they themselves are beasts. — The author of Choheleth has given a correct view of this difficult verse, by a proper translation: "I said in my heart, reflecting on the state of the sons of men, O that God would enlighten them, and make them see that even they themselves are like beasts." These words are to be referred to those in authority who abused their power; particularly to the corrupt magistrates mentioned above.